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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Information The Final Middle earth film directed by Peter Jackson and writen by Peter, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. It had a budget of $94 Million and a Box Office of $1.120 Billion. Plot The film begins with a flashback to Gollum's early life, when his name was originally Seagul. On the day that he and his cousin are fishing in the river, Deagul is suddenly dragged into the water by a large fish. At the bottom of the river, Deagul spots the One Ring lying in wait and immediately grabs it. When he swims back to the bank, Deagul admires the ring. But Smeagul arrives and becomes enamored of the ring in turn. He demands Deagul to hand it over, but Deagul refuses, and the two of them turn violent and try to kill each other. Smeagul ultimately throttles Deagul and takes the ring for his own. For this act, Smeagul is exiled from the family and left to wander in the wilds. Overtime he diminishes into the small, mean creature known as Gollum. In the present day, Frodo and Sam are on the borders of Mordor. but Frodo begins to feel the weight of the ring again. Sam seems to hope that they may yet return home. At length Gollum, who is still their guide, urges them to press on. Meanwhile, Gandalf, Theoden and the other members of the Fellowship journey to Isengard. When they arrive, they find that the Ents have destroyed Saruman's works. Merry and Pippin greet them warmly while feasting and drinking, much to Gimli's annoyance. When they meet Treebeard, he relays that Saruman is still trapped in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf advises him that Saruman must remain there under close guard. Pippin spies the palantir glowing in the flooded waters and retrieves it. Upon seeing it however, Gandalf immediately takes it from the hobbit for safekeeping. Returning to Edoras, King Theoden orders a feast to commemorate of their recent victory at Helm's Deep, but also to honour those who fell. Aragorn wonders what has become of Frodo, and Gandalf is doubtful that Frodo is alive at all. But when questioned by Aragorn, Gandalf finds in his heart that Frodo is alive. On the way to Mordor, Gollum begins to speak to his alter ego about wanting to kill the Hobbits and take back the ring. Gollum's mutterings involve leading the Hobbits "... to her". But Gollum is overheard by Sam, who attacks him. Frodo restrains him however, believing that Sam is being overly aggressive. Back at Edoras, a restless Pippin approaches the palantir and briefly takes it from Gandalf while the wizard is sleeping. But once Pippin uncovers the stone, he comes face to face with the Eye of Sauron. The Dark Lord brutally torments the Hobbit's mind. The commotion arouses Gandalf, who hastily covers the stone with a blanket. The wizard then uses his power to heal Pippin, who confesses that Sauron interrogated him, and in the seeing stone he saw a white tree in the midst of a burning city. Gandalf deduces that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith, the capital city of Gondor. He warns Aragorn and Theoden that they must now prepare for war. The Wizard takes Pippin and rides for Minas Tirith. Meanwhile, Arwen is making her way to the Grey Havens when she suddenly sees a vision of a young boy with Aragorn, wearing the Evenstar necklace. Realising that this is her son, she turns back and rides to Rivendell to confront her father. Elrond acknowledges that he saw this in his visions, but he feels that it is so far gone that it may never happen. Arwen believes that there is still hope and urges her father to reforge Narsil, the sword of the King. Elrond relents and has the sword reforged. Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith to meet with Denthor, the Steward of Gondor. There Gandalf cautions Pippin not to mention Boromir, Frodo, Aragorn or just about anything. But Denethor is already grieving over Boromir's death, having received his son's broken horn. Saddened by the reminder, Pippin offers his service to Denethor. But the Steward soon turns hostile, knowing already that Aragorn is with Theoden. Denethor declares that he will not receive Aragorn as the King, although Gandalf reminds him that a mere Steward has no right to bar the return of the King. Later that night, Gandalf tells Pippin that Sauron is ready to attack Gondor and will strike soon. At the same time Frodo, Sam and Gollum approach the city of Minas Morgul, the lair of the Nazgul. Gollum urges them to take the stairs, but the city sends a plume of flames into the sky. Gandalf and Pippin witness this from Minas Tirith. From the gates of Minas Morgul, an army issues forth, lead by the Witch-King of Angmar. Frodo and Sam begin to climb the stairs of Cirith Ungol. Gandalf realises that war has started, so he secretly enlists Pippin to light the war beacons above the city. Pippin does so, and the beacons light up through the mountains until Aragorn glimpses them from Edoras. Aragorn relays this to Theoden, who orders his army to ride to Gondor's aid. Meanwhile, the orc army invades Osgiliath. Faramir and his men are overwhelmed and forced to retreat. The Witch-King and the Nazgul try to stop them from reaching Minas Tirith, but Gandalf drives them back with a powerful light from his staff. Once inside Minas Tirith, Faramir tells Gandalf that Frodo and Sam are alive and are headed for the pass of Cirith Ungol. While ascending the stairs, Gollum hatches a plan to get rid of Sam. He secretly steals the Hobbit's food and blames the incident on Sam. A furious Sam attacks Gollum, but Frodo is forced to intervene. Sam pleads that he means no harm, but Frodo is already wearied by the burden of the ring and somewhat paranoid by Gollum's lying words. Therefore he tells Sam not to follow him any further and continues without him. Heartbroken, Sam makes his way back down. In Minas Tirith, Pippin is enlisted as a Citadel Guard under Denethor. However, the Steward is not pleased to hear that Osgiliath has fallen, despite Faramir warnings. Eventually Faramir deduces that Denethor openly wishes that Boromir had lived and Faramir had died instead. Denethor, already on the brink of madness, acknowledges this. This is enough for Faramir to forsake his life and lead a hopeless attempt to retake Osgiliath. Gandalf tries to dissuade him, to no avail. Faramir and his men are shot by Orcs before they can reach the city. At Dunharrow, Theoden has marshaled his army of 6.000 strong. Aragorn knows that their numbers are too few, and he also fears the presence of the haunted mountain, where the army of the dead dwell. Later that night, Aragorn is summoned to the King's tent, where Lord Elrond awaits him. Elrond reveals that Arwen has chosen to stay in Middle-Earth and that the time has come for Aragorn to take up his title of the King of Gondor. Elrond reveals Anduril, the mighty sword reforged from the shards of Narsil. Aragorn takes the sword and accepts his destiny as the Heir of Elendil. Elrond advises him that as King he alone can seek the aid of dead men in the haunted mountain. Eowyn tries to dissuade Aragorn from leaving and confesses her love for him, though Aragorn sorrowfully declines her now that Arwen has chosen to stay in Middle-Earth. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli head off into the mountain pass. There Legolas reveals that the Dead Men of Dunharrow are ghosts who are cursed to walk the earth after breaking their promise to aid Isildur. Inside the haunted mountain, they are confronted the King of the Dead and his army. Aragorn manages to fend them off and reveals that he can end their curse if they fight for him, as he is Isildur's descendant. At Minas Tirith, an enormous army of orcs surround the city. Before the siege begins. Faramir's body is brought back by his horse. At the citadel, Denethor is overcome with grief and madness, although Pippin realises that Faramir is actually alive. As the orcs begin to launch stones into the city, Denethor panics and orders a blind retreat. Gandalf knocks Denethor unconscious and takes command of the city. The Gondorians fight back and launch rubble into the orc army. The Nazgul soon descend on the city and some of the siege towers reach the walls. Gandalf fights off a host of orcs, later aided by Pippin. The Wizard orders him back to the Citadel for his own safety. At Cirith Ungol, Gollum leads Frodo into a tunnel, the name of which is Shelob's lair. There Gollum abandons Frodo, who senses an evil presence lurking within the tunnels. Frodo uses the star glass given to him by Galadriel to light the way, but he comes face to face with Shelob, a monstrous spider. Frodo barely manages to outrun her and escape the tunnels. There Gollum admits his treachery and tries to attack him, but Frodo throws him over the cliff. Frodo initially faints from exhaustion, however Galadriel sends him a vision from afar and encourages him to finish his quest. Sam meanwhile nearly falls off the stairs of Cirith Ungol, but he discovers the Elvish waybread that Gollum threw away earlier. Angered, Sam turns back and races towards Shelob's lair. Shelob reappears later on and strikes down Frodo with her stinger. Before she can finish him, Sam arrives wielding the star glass and Frodo's sword, Sting. After a prolonged fight with the giant spider, Sam wounds Shelob's eyes and her underbelly before her drives her away with the star glass. Sam believes that Frodo has died and with a heavy he heart he removes the ring. Sam is then forced to hide as Orcs from Cirith Ungol come to investigate. While he is hidden, Sam overhears Gorbag telling Shagrat that Frodo is actually alive: he is merely drugged. The orcs take his body for inspection and Sam secretly follows them to the tower. At Minas Tirith, the orcs send a mighty battering ram named Grond to break down the gates of the city. The gates are broken and the orcs pour into the city. Gandalf and the Gondorians hold them off for a while, but they are soon forced to retreat. As dawn breaks, Theoden and his army finally arrive. The King and his horsemen ride into the orc army and trample them into the ground. For a moment they manage to win the field and the orcs begin to retreat. However an army of Haradrim, riding atop giant war elephants called Mumakil, arrive to aid the orcs. A vicious battle ensues, in which hundreds of the Rohirrim are crushed, although they manage to bring down a few of the Mumakil. In the city, Pippin discovers that Denethor intends to commit suicide by burning himself and Faramir on a funeral pyre, unaware that his son is still alive. Pippin tries to stop them, only to be thrown out by Denethor. Pippin returns to Gandalf, who storms into the tomb of the stewards and knocks Denethor off the Pyre. Pippin removes Faramir from the burning pyre. When Denethor attacks Pippin, Gandalf's horse kicks Denethor into the flames. After seeing his son regain consciousness, Denethor burns and throws himself off the prow of the city. On the Pelennor Fields, the Witch-King uses his Fell Beast to throw Theoden and his horse across the field. Theoden is crushed beneath his horse, mortally wounding him. Before the Witch-King can finish him, a furious Eowyn defends her uncle and cuts off the Fell Beast's head. Enraged, the Witch-King swings a flail at Eowyn, which breaks her shield and fractures her arm. Merry comes to her aid and stabs the Witch-King's knee, which wounds him long enough for Eowyn to stab the Witch-King in the face. Theoden acknowledges his niece in saving him before he passes away. The battle is finally ended when Aragorn arrives with the army of the dead, and with their aid they obliterate Sauron's army. After this, Aragorn holds their oath fulfilled and sets them free. In Cirith Ungol, Shagrat and Gorbag come to blows over Frodo's Mithril shirt, which starts a civil war in the tower. This allows Sam to infiltrate the tower, where he arrives just in time to kill Gorbag before he can finish off Frodo. There Sam returns the ring to Frodo and the two of them disguise themselves as Orcs. When they cross over into Mordor, they find the way is barred by ten thousand Orcs. At Minas Tirith, Aragorn urges the remaining Captains of the West to march on the Black Gate, intending to distract Sauron and his armies and allow Frodo to reach Mount Doom. The Host of the West reaches the Black Gates of Mordor, where Sauron sets his remaining army on them. Gandalf also summons the Giant Eagles, who fight and defeat the Nazgul on their Fell Beasts. On Mount Doom, Frodo and Sam are attacked by Gollum. Although Sam is able to fend him off, Frodo succumbs to the influence of the ring and refuses to destroy it. He puts the ring on, allowing the Eye of Sauron to see him in Mordor. Gollum attacks again, knocking Sam out and biting off Frodo's finger. Gollum briefly reclaims the ring, but an enraged Frodo attacks him and attempts to take the ring back. Their scuffle results in Gollum falling over the precipice and into the lava pit. Both Gollum and the ring are destroyed, Barad-Dur collapses and the Eye of Sauron implodes. Earthquakes rip through the land and swallow the rest of Sauron's army. The Captains of the West celebrate their victory, but Mount Doom subsequently erupts. Frodo and Sam make it out alive, where they are eventually rescued by the flying Eagles and brought back to Minas Tirith. There Frodo reunites with Gandalf again, along with the rest of the Fellowship. Aragorn is crowned the new King of Gondor and Arnor, and at last he is reunited with Arwen again. Then all of the free peoples bow before the Hobbits for their deeds in the war. The Hobbits return to the Shire, relieved and yet changed from their time in the war. Sam is married to Rosie Cotton and raises a family. Frodo however is wearied from his long quest and soon realises that he can no longer stay in Middle-Earth. Therefore he reunites with Bilbo and the two of them join Gandalf on a journey to the Grey Havens, where they are met by Galadriel, Celeborn and Elrond. Gandalf announces that he is now leaving Middle-Earth as his purpose is now fulfilled. Frodo also announces that he is leaving so that he may find healing in the Blessed Realm beyond the seas. Frodo says farewell to Merry, Pippin and Sam before he joins Gandalf and Bilbo on the Elven ship. The ship sails out of Middle-Earth and into the Undying Lands. Sam returns home to his wife and daughters, knowing that he must carry on with his life. Starring * Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins * Sean Astin as Samwise "Sam" Gamgee * Andy Serkis as Sméagol/ Gollum * Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White * Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn Elessar II * Cate Blanchett as Galadriel * John Rhys-Davies as Gimli and Treebeard * Bernard Hill as Théoden * Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took * Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck * Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf * Hugo Weaving as Elrond * Liv Tyler as Arwen Undomiel * Miranda Otto as Éowyn * David Wenham as Faramir * Sean Bean as Boromir * Karl Urban as Éomer * John Noble as Denethor II * Ian Holm as Bilbo Baggins * Craig Parker as Guritz * Marton Csokas as Celeborn the Wise * Lawrence Makoare as the Witch-king of Angmar and Gothmog * Paul Norell as King of the Dead * Thomas Robins as Déagol * Bruce Phillips as Grimbold * Christopher Lee as Saruman the White * Brad Dourif as Gríma Wormtongue * Bruce Spence as The Mouth of Sauron * Bret Mackenzie as Figwit * Jarl Benzon as Glorfindel * Joel Tobeck as Guritz * Sala Baker as Murgash Extended Version - notable scenes * Gandalf and the Fellowship confront Saruman in Isengard. There Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff as punishment for his treachery. Wormtoungue also appears, but when Saruman mistreats him, Wormtouge stabs Saruman, who falls from the tower. Wormtongue is later shot dead by Legolas. * Eowyn has a dream about the fall of Numenor * Gandalf and Pippin's meeting with Denethor is slightly longer. Later on Gandalf gives Pippin a brief account of how Gondor fell into ruin. * The Paths of the Dead are extended. In the tomb of the Dead King, an earthquake rocks the mountain and sends a cascade of skulls down on Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. * Various parts of the Siege of Gondor and the Battle of Pelennor Fields are extended * The Mouth of Sauron confronts the Captains of the West at the Black Gates of Mordor, where he reveals Frodo's Mithril shirt as a taunt. Disgusted, Aragorn beheads the Mouth of Sauron. Trivia * This film is the longest of the three. The Extended version is also the longest of the extended editions. * Film critic Roger Ebert noted that Gandalf is the dominant character in this film. * The film won 11 Academy Awards, including best picture. It is also the highest grossing film of the trilogy. * To date it is the only fantasy film to win best picture. Category:Films Category:Unfinished Articles